An Artists Interpretation
by pinkwolf1620
Summary: Lucy loves to draw, paint and sketch. Lucy has talent with a brush ad her art seems to come alive. Until one day in Central City and a cetain explosion makes that a reality and people are taking notice. Especially a handsome smooth talking criminal named Leonard Snart. Now, she is in Starling City hiding under the protection of her sister and The Arrow.
1. Picasso is Born

**The Day of the Particle Accelerator Explosion.**

Lucy stared at the blank napkin on the counter table with a pen in hand but her eyes kept flickering away from her work; over to _him_. This guy looked young, not as young as her but mid to late 20s at least and he was handsome in her opinion. Lucy came to this little diner, The Motorcar, nearly every day to get a chocolate chip muffin and milkshake to fuel up for a day of sketching portraits for people and landscapes too for $2-$5 each depending on the work they needed. It wasn't much but it was pocket money and she mostly worked for herself and would occasionally sell some of her much better art on weekends.

Lucy watched the young man again, sipping coffee and keeping a keen eye on the police station every few seconds, she wondered if he was a cop or something? Her pen began to move lightly across the napkin as she sketched him quickly. This sketch was a personal one, no selling this or showing it to anyone, and Lucy smiled at her secret. Taking another sip of her milkshake and bite of muffin Lucy went to sneak another look at the young man but saw that he was gone. Lucy turned back to her drawing with a sigh and took another bite of muffin; a figure appeared in her peripheral vison and sat beside her.

"Nice drawing. Uncanny really, it's good that you drew my good side" he tried to sound light but there was something serious in his voice.

It was _him_. The guy Lucy had been admiring for days. He was actually talking to her!

"Do you make any money with your drawings?" he asked

"I…uhhh…that is umm yes, I do. I sell them, I go down to the park and do self-portraits and other things for people" Lucy felt her cheeks turning pink as the man continued to stare at her "I'm L-Lucy"

"Nice to meet you Lucy" the man smiled but didn't offer his name in return

"So, are you a cop or something?" Lucy gestured to the police station across the street "you must do or why else would you be here all the time – oh god! That totally sounded like I was stalking you all the time!" Lucy tried to cover herself but the man was only endeared to the young girl all the more

He stirred the spoon threw his cup of coffee and took a sip before answering and tried to hide an amused grin "No, I'm not a cop. I make my own wealth" he said mysteriously

"Really? So you work from home?" Lucy asked whilst taking another bite of her muffin

"You could say that" The man snuck a look at his watch and made an excuse to leave "if you'll excuse me, my friends just arrived and I have business to take care of" he smiled again with his searing blue eyes and nodded to her "It was nice to finally meet you Lucy and thanks for the portrait" he slipped her a note and snatched up her napkin before walking out of The Motorcar.

Lucy was too stunned to speak; he was almost too handsome for her to believe. In all her 19 years she had never met a man like that before. Picking up his note and trying not to bring it to her nose so that she could smell his cologne she nearly feinted when she saw that it was a lot more than $5.

It was a $20.

* * *

After leaving the girl at The Motorcar Leonard couldn't help but give a little smile of amusement. Lucy had been coming to 'his diner' for a few weeks and would always get the same thing – a chocolate chip muffin with a chocolate milkshake – and sketch for a few hours before leaving. Leonard didn't give her much attention until one day when all her coloured pencils spilled onto the floor as she sat down, usually he wouldn't help but there was _something about her_ that intrigued him. Something about her brown hair with a hint of copper, the way her blue eyes were a shade dark enough to get lost in but not dark enough to be scary, or the way she bit her lip when she tried to pick up all her pencils in one hand.

Leonard had turned in his chair to help the girl, he hardly made small talk but he asked what she was working on, the girl looked like a deer in caught in headlights when he spoke to her and told him that she wanted to be an artist one day and that "Practise makes perfect". Nearly every day since then Leonard had seen her at the diner but would hardly pay her any attention – his eyes were always scanning the cop station and always thinking – but occasionally would catch her sneaking glances at him when she was drawing.

Clearly, this was all a harmless crush and would go away in a month or so, so there was no need for him to get involved with her. Leonard also judged that she might be a little young for him too and he didn't want the cops after him for _that_ either.  
Once outside Leonard took out the sketch he had paid for and gave it another scan – it was simple, no colour, just him sitting at his table drinking his coffee – for a quick sketch it was really good and the detail took him by surprise. If this was 'quick' and done in 20 minutes then what could she do if she had time?

Leonard didn't have time to think any more about Lucy, his partners in crime were waiting for him and if they caught him with a drawing of himself he would never hear the end of it. That was what he hated about crime; you always had to put on the 'alpha' act to stay on top and any sign of weakness meant death. _IF_ Lucy was to become his friend (and he wasn't saying she would) she could become a liability to him. Maybe he shouldn't go to The Motorcar anymore? Maybe he should scare the girl into not going there?

"Hey Snart!" a voice growled at him from behind, Leonard spun round to face them "where you goin'?"

"Was having a little trouble finding you but then I sniffed the air" Leonard sounded cocky and arrogant as he turned to face Mick Rory, his partner since he was a kid in juvenile detention "got a job for us. Follow me and we'll fill in the others" together the two men left the streets and headed for an old rundown warehouse, went inside and then downstairs where all the others were waiting "Fellas!" Leonard greeted them with his arms out stretched "got a job for us"

"What is it this time?" a dirty looking man asked as he sat polishing a knife

"And the plan better work this time!" Said a guy in a rumpled suit that looked like it hadn't been washed in days "because I need the money"

Leonard smiled dangerously and pulled out a map of Central City where a truck route was marked in red all through the city and off the map, when they were all done looking Leonard explained "Gentleman, it has become known among the underworld that Starling City has come under cyber-attack and they have no money" he paused so they could sneer and mock the people of the city who were without money then continued "The mayor of Starling City has reached out to our treasury department, since we're allies, and has requested a loan of a _very_ big lot of fresh cash just waiting to be stolen" he rubbed his hands together excitedly "we follow the trucks before they leave Central and take the money and disappear to our usual safe house where all the money will be sorted and each man will get their share. We better gear up tonight, we spring tomorrow when the cash goes through"

* * *

It was last at night and Lucy had long since left the diner still smiling like an idiot after finally talking to Leonard. She sat now at her canvas, paint brush in hand with an assortment of paints next to her. Lucy had no idea what to paint! An animal? A landscape? Something that didn't make sense? She really had no idea.

Yet again, Lucy found herself looking at the $20 note Leonard had given her and smiled. It was a lot more than anyone had ever paid her and Lucy was sad that he had taken her sketch of him but was also excited as if she had given him her phone number or something "God, I'm such a dork!" she laughed at herself "I'll probably never see him again after today! He'll never go to that diner now" Lucy sighed in dismay and picked up her brush again and began to paint.

Hours passed slowly yet Lucy and her paintbrush were in overdrive, lines were all over the pages at first with colours that didn't seem to go together, they mixed and twirled around the canvas before her eyes as her imagination took hold. Lucy had no idea what made her paint Leonard again but this painting was by far better than her quick sketch at the diner. Lucy spent extra time on his eyes, so intently they stared at her from the canvas, so blue and alive she could almost get lost in them. Lucy smiled stupidly to herself "I'm such a dork" she laughed before turning her attention to the TV and turning to volume up higher.

The signal in Lucy's apartment was weak when she first moved in but thanks to a quick call to her sister in Starling City, Lucy could finally watch TV with a clear picture and pristine sound. On the TV now was an image of STAR Labs "every nerds dream" she mused as she saw hundreds of people outside the giant building waiting for the Particle Accelerator to come on.

Lucy went back to her painting, using her fingers to dip into the paints this time and smudge some lines here and there and adding shading. Screams interrupted her work, Lucy nearly turned down the TV again when she saw people on the screen running for their lives and was nearly blinded by a bright light outside. Lucy turned to close her blinds but was suddenly knocked back off her feet, paint splattered everywhere all over her and the floor, while Lucy scrambled to protect her work and expensive brushes she felt a burning wave of energy surge through her legs and out through her fingertips.  
Everything was a blur as she screamed in pain, gripping her painting so hard her knuckles went white.

Slowly, the bright light disappeared and the pain went away but it felt like she had pins and needles in her hands and face. Lucy looked down and saw herself covered in paint, especially her hands and decided she would defiantly need a manicure after this. In all the confusion of trying to clean up as much as she could, Lucy couldn't shake the feeling of pins and needles and shook her hands violently to get the blood flowing again.  
Something out of the corner of her eye stole her attention now, it was her painting of Leonard. It was softly glowing!

 _Paintings don't glow!_ Lucy stared at the painted Leonard trying to decide what was going on "What sort of paints am I using?" she asked herself allowed and could have sworn she was dreaming when something impossible happened.

Lucy had to look again and again before she was sure this was real. Leonard, the painting she created, was blinking at her. Leonard was alive. 

* * *

**A/N: I love this first chapter and hope that you all do too. I love Leonard as a character and I hope to bring something more…human to him in this story. I didn't intend for this to be a crossover but Barry and his team will make an appearance but Starling City (even though we're in Central City now) will be the main setting after the next few chapters. Stay tuned for more!**

 **A/N2: Looks like Lucy has a crush on Captain Cold! So cute but what will Leonard do with her? Will he do anything about it or leave her hanging there? Will he protect her or use her like a common criminal would? I hope not.**

 **PLEASE LEAVE REVIEWS!**


	2. Show Me Your Gift

Lucy must have been staring at the canvas for an hour, just staring into her creations eyes and looking at the painting – an honest to God _painting_ – move before her. Lucy tried to convince herself that she was dreaming but when Leonard moved again and actually smiled at her; she knew that was real.

"How is this happening?" She asked no one in particular as she got up and paced the room still feeling shaky "everyone wants their art to come alive but…but this is nuts!"

"You're telling me!" The voice sounded shocked and scared the crap out of her

"Who's there!?" Lucy closed her eyes and prayed it was an intruder and not…"you're alive aren't you" she sighed in defeat and smacked her hand on her forehead "so you can talk too?" she edged closer to the canvas and looked down

"Yeah, guess so?" Painted Leonard shrugged and smiled at his creator. So out there, outside the canvas was the real world and he was the first painting to ever really see it "out there looks so beautiful!" he exclaimed "I wish I could go out of this painting! I wish I could walk!"

Lucy wished she were dreaming as she watched Painted Leonard slowly take a step inside his canvas. To her, he looked like a child taking his first steps one foot hesitantly in front of the other until he reached the edge of the canvas. Lucy watched horrified as Painted Leonard pushed as hard as he could to 'break' the canvas and step out into the real world "STOP!" she cried and uselessly held out her hands toward him "you'll hurt yourself!" at her command and at the touch of her hand, Painted Leonard stopped where he was and became a 'normal' painting again.  
For a few moments Lucy stared at Painted Leonards face, his hands, eye and lips. Painted Leonard looked like the real Leonard, just like her imagination fed by her silly crush on a man she barely knew.

This was madness. Lucy was surely going mad. The young girl paced around her apartment but would always go back to her paints and brushes. An experiment was needed, just a small one, and with an idea in mind she picked up a pencil and began to draw on a fresh piece of paper, a simple stick figure pony, and for one last moment hoped that this was all a dream. Lucy concentrated on the drawing, the lines and envisioned it moving in her mind. Lucy touched the pony and felt pins and needles in her hand again and felt them move into the drawing. At first, nothing happened and Lucy felt happy and thought that _maybe_ this might all be a dream after all, but then the pony's leg started to move and before long the drawing was prancing around on the paper.  
Lucy watched as the pony trotted and galloped on the page feeling alive and sick at the same time. What had happened to her? Was it only drawings that came alive or would paintings come alive too? Charcoal sketches? Lucy felt a flutter in her stomach when she thought of how watercolour paintings would look when they were brought to life.

It was after midnight now but Lucy didn't care, she felt a new energy within her flowing through her fingers as more and more of her drawings and paintings came to life throughout her apartment. More experimenting was to be done.

* * *

 **A WEEK AFTER THE EXPLOSIAN**

To say that Central City was a mess was an understatement. Leonard loved it. With the hospitals full up with people hurt and buildings needing to be rebuilt and the like, the life of a criminal had never been so easy. Hardly anyone watched security cameras anymore because the cops were stretched thin with other crime and emergencies. His gang was living the high life.  
They had enough money to be set for life but most of his gang had pissed their away gambling it trying to make more. Leonard was smart and put most of his in a safety deposit box with enough left out to pay for usual necessities; like coffee.

Leonard still went to his usual diner, drank the same coffee, sat at the same booth and watched and listened to the cops in their cop cars for anything new or different. For the first few days since the explosion, Lucy hadn't been there but Leonard hadn't given it much thought until he realised something – without seeing the flash of her copper hair, or the fancy colours she would use to draw or paint – his coffee shop didn't feel right anymore. Leonard began to fear something had happened to Lucy and the criminals code 'Never Leave One of Your Own Behind' sprang to his mind. Leonard tried to forget about her because the girl wasn't part of his own; she was much too innocent.

As Leonard sipped his coffee again, the door to the diner opened and the sound of the tinkling bell made Leonard glance quickly up quickly and then down again even quicker. Lucy was there but he was sure that she hadn't seen him yet.  
There was something different about her today, her appearance was of someone who didn't get a lot of sleep, her usual shiny copper hair was worn in a high ponytail to hide the fact that it was unwashed and her clothes were mismatched.

Lucy also didn't have her sketch book with her. Leonard wanted to look away, he _wanted_ to turn to the window, take a sip of his coffee and watch the cars and he _wanted_ to not notice the crack in Lucy's sweet voice as she quietly ordered her usual chocolate milkshake and chocolate chip muffin. Against his better judgement Leonard turned around to face Lucy with a small sly smile "Hey Picasso is back!"

Lucy jumped when Leonard's voice hit her ears, she was both excited and terrified that he was here. Lucy hadn't been to The Motorcar in a week and missed going there to draw and paint before going off to the busier parts of Central City to sell her art for pocket money. Lately though, Lucy had kept to herself and drew whatever she could and watched it come alive on the page or canvas. Watercolours, acrylic paints, charcoal, usual coloured pencils – no matter what Lucy did they all came alive. Every drawing and sketch and painting!  
Lucy had been busy honing her new power and had found that if she wanted a drawing to have a particular trait – like that of a lion being fierce and scary – all she had to do was write it on the drawing then colour over it. Her drawing would come alive with those traits to back it up.

Lucy stayed up well into the night on most nights experimenting with drawings of animals, cars and planes. They would all make noise too. Lucy had yet to make them come off the page and into the real world yet but she had only had her powers for a week. There was still much to learn.

"Hi" Lucy replied weakly without looking up from her muffin

"Not much sleep, Picasso?" Leonard got up from his booth and went to join the girl, totally ignoring the cars and people "creating too many works of art?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that" Lucy nodded but still wouldn't look at him

Leonard knew something was wrong and pushed for answers "Where's your sketch book?"

Lucy took another small bite of her muffin before answering "I left it at home, I need a break from them" she then nearly slapped herself, she had meant to say 'it' and not 'them' "Just getting a little boring I guess" that was an understatement.

"'Them'? Who's them? Someone giving you trouble?" Leonard suddenly felt himself getting protective of Lucy and if someone was hurting her then they would answer to him. How had one girl changed him so quickly? Leonard made a mental note to steal something ASAP.

"No…no I just need a break from my art is all. It's getting frustrating" Lucy took another bite but suddenly kicked herself, Lucy had this amazing gift and she had yet to share it with anyone. Why not Leonard? He probably wouldn't tell anyone, he might even think it was amazing! That stupid school girl crush was surfacing again as Leonard watched her "Hey…" she now turned to him ignoring her muffin and drink whilst grabbing a napkin "…can I show you something?" there was an endearing spark in Lucy's eyes and a smile the lit up inside her and Leonard found it hard to ignore the girl. Leonard became confused when Lucy sprang up from her seat beckoning him to follow her outside and into an out-of-the-way spot under some trees across the trees.

Lucy took out her napkin and a pen and began to do a quick sketch of a pony and gave Leonard an excited look "Watch!" she exclaimed and held her hand over the little drawing and closed her eyes. Leonard stared at the drawing and then back at Lucy clearly confused and annoyed; until the little drawing moved a hoof and then began to neigh and trot around on the paper.

"What?! How did you do that?" Leonard asked as the little horse shook itself and then did something even more remarkable – the horse trotted to the edge of the page and then kept going right off the page and into Lucy's hand. Leonard was amazed and confused as Lucy put the little sketched horse on the ground, looking perfectly real now though it lacked colour, and watched as it galloped around her feet.  
Lucy giggled as Leonard bent down and touched the horse "it feels almost real!"

"Yeah! I don't know how I do it but whatever I draw or paint or whatever comes to life! They talk and make noises and everything!" Lucy scooped up the little horse and magically made it appear back on the napkin where it was a still sketch again. Leonard couldn't take his eyes off Lucy and even had a grin on his face, it was a grin of happiness but not a 'I'm proud of you' happiness. Indeed he was excited to see Lucy so happy but his criminal mind was reeling with possibilities. Until a flicker of movement caught his eye across the street; it was Mick and he looked pissed.

Leonard made a quick half-assed excuse to leave Lucy under the trees looking confused and a little hurt, before crossing the road to meet with Mick. Leonards partner looked annoyed as usual but this time was different, he was annoyed at the recent inactivity.

"We need another 'cash liberation' and soon, Snart" Mick growled and then looked over toward Lucy who was walking away from the trees and back into the diner "who's the girl? She's cute. Little young for you isn't she? When you're done with her can I have her?" Mick gave the girl a long lingering look that was nothing short of animalistic.

Leonard nearly punched Mick in the face, Lucy was different to all the other girls in the dark world of criminals. Lucy was kind and full of true happiness, Leonard wanted to protect that and vowed that he would protect her from Mick and anyone else in his gang. Leonard squared his shoulders and stared Mick down "She's no one" he spat "why the urge for another heist? What happened to your share from last time?" Mick didn't even have to offer a response for Leonard to know that Mick had gambled most of it away trying to make more. Now Leonard had to come up with a new scheme, one that wouldn't land any of them in gaol and that could be done fast.

Leonard had it on good authority that most of the police stations gun and ammunition bunkers were going to be emptied out and taken away to be cleaned and checked. Somehow, they could get into one of the trucks with most of the guns in it, change the route on the GPS and drive away before anyone would be the wiser. Only Leonard had _no idea_ how they would even begin to start this plan – too many things could go wrong.  
He was thinking too hard to almost miss Mick eyeing Lucy again as she left The Motorcar "Hey! She's not like us! She's just some girl who draws and has a crush on me and –" he had to stop mid-thought because something else was coming to mind, a way they could carry out their plans and be safe too.

Already he was making plans and calculating things but first: to do any of this he needed to get to Lucy. He hated putting her in danger like this but if everything went right she would be out of the city while everything was happening and be well out of the spotlight. Leonard also made a mental note about any upcoming art shows, things at museums and art competitions. Leonard needed Lucy and he needed her gift if any of this was to be possible.

 **A/N: I liked this chapter because we got to see a little more of Leonard. Leonard knows Lucy likes him, he needs her for a criminal act, how will he use her and get her to agree to help him? A young girl in-crush is a powerful thing.**

 **A/N2: I know I said this is an Arrowverse story and it is, Lucy will get to Starling City in the next chapter or the one after that. You'll also see Oliver and Felicity soon. Not sure if I ever made it clear that Lucy was Felicity's sister. More of that will become clear. I just wanted to flesh out Lucy a little more before we bring in her family.**

 **Read and review and let me know what you think!  
**


	3. The Set Up

For the next few days – despite his gangs urgency – Leonard made it his mission to get closer to Lucy and spend as much time with her as possible. Leonard mostly saw her at The Motorcar but would always get there before her and buy a muffin and chocolate milkshake in advance. Leonard loved the way her face would light up. Lucy was getting better at hiding her blushing but there were other things that let Leonard know that his plan was working – Lucy would touch her hair absentmindedly, smile at pretty much everything he said and her eyes never left his.  
They could spend hours at The Motorcar talking about everything from art, to schools they went to, universities Lucy hoped to go to and family. Leonard was happy to know that Lucy had a sister in Starling City _she'll have somewhere to go where she can be safe once we get started_ Leonard thought with relief.

"So, are you going to go to the peer today and sell some portraits?" Leonard asked casually "I would be more than willing to pose again" he gave the young girl a cheeky smile and was rewarded with Lucy touching her hair again and looking away "it'd be better since I know you'll be drawing me this time"

"Landscapes would be easier since they don't come alive a much. You can come with me if you want? But watching me paint might be a little boring for you" Lucy started to gather her things together and looking in to her purse for money to pay

Leonard got up from his seat and put some money down on the counter – enough to pay for both of their drinks and her muffin "Not at all, I like your art. It would be amazing to see some more of your creations" and together they left for Central Peer where Lucy made the majority of her pocket money. Already Leonard could see just how popular Lucy was around here when she began to set up a little area where should could put her easel and next to it put a small jar of water down along with her paint brushes.  
People were already beginning to crowd around which made Leonard feel uncomfortable. Years of being a thief had taught him that people seeing you was a bad thing but Lucy took it in stride and even engaged them asking what they wanted her to paint. They had clearly made suggestions before because they were all shouting scenes and the names of different people at her.

Leonard watched with awe as Lucy asked the opinion of one of the kids and couldn't help but nearly lose it when the kid asked for a magical place with a unicorn. A unicorn was an animal, a mythical one, but still an animal and surely come alive and then everyone would know her secret! However, Leonard watched as Lucy picked up her paintbrush and the canvas burst to life. Lucy painted rolling grass hills that shone bright green in the sunlight, a small river fed a lake in the bottom corner shaded by trees where birds nested and the sky shone a brilliant blue.  
Lucy was concentrating hard on her painting as she added in small details like flowers, buzzing bees and shadows and highlights in all the right places; all the while the crowd looked on in awe at the brilliant painting.  
More and more detail was added, time almost stood still, until Lucy began to paint the unicorn. A fantastic white horse rearing a challenge to the sky with a fine horn made of shining crystal.

The child that asked for the painting clapped furiously when Lucy was finished and nearly cried when she presented the painting to everyone "What do you think?" she asked and felt her heart warm at all the praise and applause from the crowd and then more and more requests were made:

"Do a bunny next!" a girl called out shyly from behind her mother

"No, no! Paint a nice house!"

"A battle between good and evil!"

On and on Lucy painted while Leonard watched her with admiration. They stayed at the peer for another couple of hours before Lucy decided to call it a day, she gifted the people with all their requested paintings and packed up her things. Lucy was surprised that Leonard had stayed for the whole thing and even helped her pack up and count her money that she made.

$80 wasn't that bad a haul at all.

"Can I ask you something?" Leonard asked as they walked back to Lucy's apartment building "about what you can do?"

"Sure" Lucy was always eager to answer any questions of Leonards

"You can make your art come alive at will, so why didn't any of your paintings come alive today?"

"Because I didn't want them too. They only come alive when I command it and they'll stay as paintings until I call on them" Lucy explained and then went on before Leonard could speak and actually answered another question of his before he asked it "and I can make them be anything I want and have any characteristic I want. All I have to do is write what I want them to be and then paint over it with whatever colour I'm using to paint with. When they come alive they'll have that trait or characteristic. Cool huh?"

Leonard thought it was very cool and listened as she went on about how she could make the drawing go back to a drawing and how that if they got wet or came into contact with paint thinner or anything else that destroyed paintings they would be ruined. All this information was important to Leonard as he thought about his plan and thought about the right way to ask her to help him. After all, he was a criminal, although Lucy didn't know that and he hoped she never would, and he was asking her to get involved in some pretty bad things. Leonard had to be careful here.  
All through the night Leonard had been looking up art museums, shows and art competitions that might be happening in other cities, once he got Lucy to help him he could send her away to another city to compete in an art competition.

Leonard was so lost in his thoughts that he nearly missed Lucy talking "…and she's so smart and pretty too! I wish I was as smart as her, she's all computers and I'm all about art"

"Sorry, who?"

"My sister, Felicity. She lives in Starling City"

 _Starling City? That's perfect!_ Leonard thought as she went on and on about her amazing older half-sister – same mum different dads – and how Felicity would urge her to go to college all the time like she had done. Starling City was a great place, a little dark and gloomy at times but if Leonard could find an art thing for Lucy there then she would be out of the city by the time he needed to do his heist! This was perfect!

Leonard took a short breath as they reached Lucy's apartment, the young girl stood there awkwardly with all her art supplies under her arm and giving him a shy look. Lucy had had a crush on him for ages, he had just spent the entire day with her and now had walked her home. Lucy wondered to herself if Leonard would kiss her before he left; if this could be called a date or something.  
Sadly though, Leonard didn't lean in "I was wondering if you could draw something for me? It doesn't have to be now or anything. Just an experiment of sorts"

It wasn't a kiss but drawing for Leonard was still exciting, Lucy's face brightened a little "Yeah? Sure! What did you want me to draw?"

Leonard quickly came up with an excuse on the fly "My car keys" seeing her look of confusion he went on to explain "I keep losing them and they're expensive to replace, I was wondering if you could draw them for me but have them work on any car; in case my friends lose their car keys too" he knew it was a sad excuse but also knew that with Lucy's crush on him she would help him.

Placing her art supplies on the ground, Lucy got out a notepad and pencil and quickly did a sketch while asking Leonard questions about his car keys – colour, shape, size etc. Before colouring it in she made a quick note on them ' _Will unlock any vehicle_ ' and coloured them a simple grey colour before sliding them off the paper and into her hand. The keys felt real and glimmered in the afternoon sun as Lucy handed them over to a smiling Leonard.

"Thanks Lucy! These'll make things much easier" he smiled both at how his plan was turning out and how happy Lucy looked as she turned to pick up her art supplies. Seeing her struggle slightly with her load Leonard rushed ahead of her to open the front door to her building "There you go" he eyed the stairs inside "want me to help you carry them up?"

Lucy felt butterflies in her stomach but refused his offer "Uhh no thanks, I've been doing this for a while now so I'm used to it" right when Lucy said that a stray pencil fell from her hand and onto the pavement, Leonard scooped it up and handed it to her. Lucy tried to ignore the butterflies as their fingers touched and was sure the Leonard looked away when they did.  
After saying goodbye again, Leonard left.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Once inside Lucy put her supplies away and was greeted by several chattering voices. Anyone else would be horrified but she knew that it was only her paintings that came alive when she willed them to and right now she needed some friends to talk to.  
A glittery two-tone pink fox bounded lithely up to her followed by the prancing grey pony Lucy had drawn to show Leonard her powers "Mistress! You're home!" the shining pink fox rubbed her muzzle against Lucy's leg affectionately

"Welcome home Mistress" The grey pony tossed her mane about in greeting

Lucy picked the little fox, no bigger than a cat, up into her arms and gave it a kiss "Hey Jitters, did you miss me?" the fox scampered out of her arms and lay casually across her shoulders "and I asked you all to please not call me Mistress. Lucy will do just fine"

"Yes Mistress Lucy" Jitters licked Lucy on the cheek before jumping down to the floor again; landing with the grace of a cat "did you create more of us today? Will there be more of us?" the pink fox asked excitedly

"Sadly no. I gave the drawings away so they won't come alive, not all paintings have to come alive you know" Lucy reasoned carefully, knowing that Jitters wanted more friends along with the grey pony she named Leo "I'll sketch you come more friends and then draw them what I get the chance, okay? I've had a big day today" Lucy flopped herself onto the couch and gave an exhausted sigh. Jitters pounced on her lap

"Did you see _him_ again?" the fox's ear twitched playfully " _Leonardo_?" she drawled

"It's 'Leonard' and yes I saw him today. We spent the whole day together actually" Lucy smiled at the memory and wished that _something_ would have happened but then remembered that he was older and probably had better girls to hang out with "and nothing happened again"

"You have to take charge of the situation then! Don't wait around for him! Be like Cinderella and go after your charming prince!" Jitters said romantically, not moving as Lucy sat up with a frown on her face "…are you going after him now?" she asked hopefully when a ringing interrupted her "your phone! I'll get it" the pink fox raced over to her Mistresses art supplies and dug out Lucy's phone "it's your sister Mistress!"

"Thank Jitters" Lucy got up and gave Jitters a sad look "go to sleep" of course 'sleep' to the pink fox and pony meant that they became paintings again and melted back on to their canvases in the cupboard. Lucy took a look at her phone's screen and saw happily that it was her sister "Fee!"

"Hey Lulu! How are you?" Felicity said into the phone "I thought you would still be at the peer?"

"I decided to come home early, and how did you know I was at the peer?" it only took a second for Lucy to come to her own conclusion "you've been pinging my phone again haven't you?"

"Only because I love you and there have been a lot of robberies in Central City recently and I want to make sure you're safe" Lucy heard her sister sound almost like their mother "sell any more art recently? Have you been able to make rent?"

"Uhh, yeah actually. A friend and I went down to the peer today and I sold some art. I made $80 today!" Lucy said excitedly "maybe I can afford a trip to Starling City soon"

"I hope so" Felicity sighed into the phone "it's been so boring here, nothing to do during the day"

"So the nightlife is where it's at?"

"What? No! No nightlife here! None whatsoever!" Felicity quickly tried to cover and changed the topic "so, this friend of yours? Would he be the male variety? Do you have a name?"

"I'm not telling you because you'll only look him up and see if he's some criminal or something! He's really nice and super cute but a little old for me so he might be out of my league" Lucy huffed in defeat

"I'm the older sister, I have to protect you. As long as you're happy then I'm happy" On her computers, Felicity opened another tab and saw a lift of all the art functions and competitions to be happening in Starling City and eyed them all. Lucy would love all of these "Hey Lulu, do you still like art?" she asked mockingly

"Is the sky blue?" Came Lucy's sarcastic response "what's up?"

"There are a bunch of art shows and stuff here next week, feel like coming here and we'll check a few of them out 'Smoak–style'?" Felicity asked while eyeing the clock, it was nearly time to go home and she waved to get Oliver's attention at his desk to alert him "it'll be fun!"

Lucy felt a jolt of excitement run through her body at the thought of entering an art competition or just going to see some displayed with her sister, the thought of getting away thrilled her. What about Leonard? He wasn't exactly her boyfriend or anything but she felt anxious at him not knowing where she was…should she tell him? Lucy made a snap decision "Yeah, I'll be there! I'll get a train on Sunday night"

"I'll look up train times for you"

The two sisters talked long into the afternoon as if they hadn't talked in months. Felicity told her sister about working at QC with Oliver being the CEO and how much of a drag that was. Oliver was always late and never took notes in any of the meetings – that's where Felicity came in. Lucy often joked about Felicity being Oliver's knight in shining armour. Lucy tried to avoid talking about Leonard but Felicity got it out of her and she told Felicity all about her latest crush. Leonard was smart, charming, brilliant and liked her art, he was also mysterious and had an intense look about him. Lucy went on about how she had known he went to The Motorcar nearly every day and watched the police cars with Felicity listening intently and mentally taking notes.

xxxxxxxxxx

The morning of Lucy's departure she raced down to The Motorcar to say goodbye to Leonard. Lucy had no idea if he would be there this early but she hoped to see him before she got on her train. Sure enough, Leonard was there and took one look at her flushed cheeks and wondered if something was the matter until he saw her bags "Going somewhere Picasso?" he raised an eyebrow coyly

"Yup!" Lucy smiled at Leonard happily and pushed her bag out of the way and sat down with him at his booth "I'm off to Starling City to visit my sister, it's been a while since I've seen her"

Leonard was shocked at the news but hid it well by taking a sip from his coffee and gestured to an untouched muffin on a napkin "I got that for you" a spark lit up his eyes as Lucy took the muffin and began tearing into it "Starling City huh? I read about some art competitions there that are taking place next week"

"Yeah! I'm going to enter one! You have a week to come up with a painting with the theme 'Brightest In The Dark' and I have no idea what to do for it" Lucy said between bites before standing up again "my train is getting in soon so I should go" Leonard stood up with her and put his hands in his pockets "don't miss me too much while I'm gone" Lucy said jokingly "and don't get into too much trouble"

In a sheer moment of boldness, Lucy sprang forward and wrapped her arms around Leonard. With their height difference, Lucy's head brushed Leonard's chin comfortably. Leonard was caught off guard but didn't push the young girl away and waited patiently until Lucy pulled away from his embrace looking pink in the face. Lucy picked up her bag and muffin and half walked half ran out of the café.

"I'll try not to" Leonard watched her get into a taxi and sat down again, feeling warm from Lucy's body pressed against his. Hopefully Lucy would be back long after his heist coming up, she would come back and things would be back to normal.

…only he didn't know that things wouldn't be back to normal and he would soon be taking a trip to Starling City himself.

 **A/N: This chapter took a long time to get out, mostly because of the length. This chapter is really a two-in-one kind of thing. I like to write longer chapters but they take more time to get out and I apologise for that.**

 **A/N2: Lucy is getting the hang of her powers and Felicity made an appearance! Maybe we'll see Oliver and the rest of Team Arrow soon?**

 **A/N3: The theme for Lucy's art competition is a hint at how this story will play out.**

 **Read and review!**


	4. Plans Gone Astray

Today was the day. Today Leonard and his gang would make the heist, get more money and vanish without a trace. Leonard sat in a worn out desk chair at a table overlooking the maps and plan he had laid out the night before – the day Lucy left. Leonard lightly brushed his fingers against his cheek where her lips had been and even though it had happened nearly 24 hours ago; he still believed he could feel her lips there and smell her lip balm. Cheery scented.  
With Lucy out of the city Leonard thought he would be able to get back to himself, his plans and old life but the young girl had slowly moved her way into his heart and he found with this separation he couldn't help but think of her more.  
Leonard had to focus; he had to get this right.

Feeling inside his pocket for Lucy's keys made some of his anxiety fade away, the keys were like any other car keys – small and silver – but with one difference: if they got wet they would disappear. Leonard wanted to use this to his advantage once the heist was over.

Leonard looked up as Rory and his other gang members came in through the door asking all sorts of questions like where was it happening? Where? Who was in what car? How would they divide the cash? He quietened them all when he got the keys out and flashed them a smile "How did you get those? The cops keep all their keys close" Rory looked at them suspiciously

"Never you mind how I got them the point it there keys are the ones that belong to the rear truck in the convey. Here's the plan gentleman: we rustle up some uniforms from the guards, we each get in two cars, one to travel with the convoy to ward off any suspicions and the other will ride off with their trucks weapons and we meet up at our usual rendezvous point" Leonard explained the plan in more detail but could tell that he was losing his gang interests and simply said "Just follow me and you'll do fine"

* * *

Brave men in dark blue suits swarmed everywhere around them into and out of trucks and getting the guns ready to travel. Leonard and his men were scattered but they all at their orders to not draw attention to themselves as they got into their trucks. Rory was paired with Leonard as always and together they were in the last truck with 80% of the weapons.

"Men!" Their commanding officer called them all the attention, Leonard and the rest of his gang exchanged looks before casually walking to their commanding officer at a table with a map of the city "This is where we are" he pointed to their base before tracing a line in a marker and making a circle around another point on the map "this is where we need to go. All of your trucks have GPS in them and a route already planned out, follow it and there'll be nothing to worry about. Move!"

They all sprang into action, Leonard got Lucy's keys out of his pocket and spun them around his finger "I'll drive" he said to Rory totally intending to get rid of the keys once this was over but Rory snatched them out of his partners hand

"Why don't I drive?" he said pointedly and opened the trucks door

Leonard placed a warning hand on Rory's arm "I think _I_ should drive" if Rory had the keys then how could he destroy them after?! "Give me the keys Rory" he said in warning and watched as Rory turned to him, stepping down from the truck and eyed Leonard but before anything could happen their commanding officer approached them and asked what was going on.

"Just suggesting to my partner that I should drive" Leonard said smoothly trying to avoid any unwanted attention while Rory growled evilly at him

"I don't care who drives, just transport the weapons!"

"Yes Sir" both men answered in unison and got in the truck and fired up the GPS to tell them where to go. Leonard was a little in tune with computers and managed to discreetly change the route and ping it so that no one would know they had diverted from the original route.

They set off.

* * *

Lucy yawned as she stepped off the train and on to the platform whilst looking around her Felicity and didn't have to look long before she found a giant banner with "LUCY MATHEWS" on it with a bunch of X's and O's.  
Felicity ran to meet her younger sister and hugged her tight "How's my favourite sister?" she asked happily

"I'm your only sister and I'm good" Lucy laughed back and linked her arm with her sisters as they walked to find a cab "how did you manage to get off work early?" she asked "doesn't Oliver work you into the ground long into the night?" Felicity caught the innuendo and blushed, Lucy didn't seem to notice what she had said

"Oliver said I could have the afternoon off so that I could come see you and get you settled in and we're going to dinner tonight!" Felicity started to plan out their week together and Lucy listened quietly while thinking about her art project for her competition and got an idea for what she could do.  
While Felicity continued talking she noticed a little kid with an Arrow T-shirt on – dark green with a bow and arrow symbol on it – and asked her sister about the competition "the theme is 'Brightest In the Dark' and I was wondering if I could paint The Arrow in some Starling City setting? It would make sense: Starling City is a dark place and The Arrow is the light by helping it stay safe"

"I…I guess you could paint The Arrow but are you meant to take the theme so literally? You could paint something else?" Felicity panicked for a second when her little sister mentioned her boss/friend/vigilante of Starling City "you could do something else like the sun on a dark day or something magical?"

"I'll do some sketches of The Arrow when we get to your place, I want to get a head start on everyone!"

Felicity opened a car door and they got in after putting Lucy's bag in the trunk "I'm so proud! You get your brains and passion for work from me!"

"Not sure that's how it works" Lucy laughed lightly and felt her phone vibrate and looked at the screen. Before leaving Central, Lucy had downloaded an alert news app to tell her everything that was going on at home; it was telling her that a whole convoy of police trucks full of weapons was stolen.

* * *

Leonards plan had worked until Rory decided that there wasn't enough blood shed and had shot up the first policemen who started following them once they deviated from the original route "RORY NO!" Leonard tried to take the wheel as Rory hung out the window trying to deter their pursuers "GET BACK IN HERE!" bullets flew passed them as their windshield shattered "RORY!"

His partner was hardly listening as he tried to shoot the policemen following them. Shouted curses, bullets and streaks of fire from Rory's gun exploded around them. Leonard took full control of the wheel and pulled Rory into the back "STAY DOWN AND SHUT UP!" He roared as he put in a new address into the GPS and signalled the others in his gang to follow them; Leonard began to lead them on a chase through the city. Thinking of a plan under pressure was far from ideal but he had to do it.  
Leonard swiftly turned the wheel of the truck and sped down an alley, his other gang members followed when they could and listen to his orders to shoot at anything to give them some cover. They all sped down the back streets of Central City and with the next stage of the plan nearly underway Leonard began to feel very anxious.

None to gently, the break was put on and the wheel was again turned sharply and the truck was flipped over onto its roof and rolled into a nearby rundown looking park. Leonard and Rory managed to get out of the truck but the weapons weren't getting out anytime soon, Leonard swore as he tried to retrieve the keys but was pulled out of the car aggressively "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" Rory roared and punched his partner in the face.

"Saving our arses!" Leonard tried to get back in the truck for the keys but was again stopped "let me go before any more damage is your input today!"

"You think this is my fault!?" Rory yelled as the rest of the gang turned up " _you're_ the one who didn't tell us the whole plan! Just that we had to follow you like little sheep!"

Leonard forgot the keys and stood up eye to eye with Rory "and if you had followed me like you were meant to we would be at our safe house counting our money by now!" Leonard watched with horror as Rory ripped open the trucks door and pulled out the keys and examined them.

"All the trucks keys have numbers on them, a code so that if they're stolen they can be tracked" Rory held up the keys in front of Leonards face knowing that his partner didn't think about this little bit of info "these keys are smooth and silver" he jingled them obnoxiously "all the other keys are brass and dull!"

Leonard knew he was busted but swore that he would protect Lucy and keep her out of this "So? What's your point?" he stalled stupidly

Rory put the keys in his other hand a wiped his now free hand on his pants to get the sweat off and noticed something else odd about the keys "have these been painted with something?" he asked no one in particular and began rubbing at the keys and watched as they started to smudge and smear before their eyes "where did you get these?" he growled.

Leonard couldn't think anymore, all he thought about was Lucy and keeping her away from all of this and knowing that that would be hard if anyone from his world – besides him of course – got involved with her! Before Leonard knew it, he had launched himself at Rory and tried to get the keys. Rory struck Leonard again and again while crushing the keys in his palm and watching as the keys dripped and ran down his arm "that's very interesting, paint and pencil if I'm not mistaken"

"And you so often are" Leonard spat in anger and defeat

"Keys made of paint and pencil…where would you get something like this and how?" Rory started to think. Ever since that particle accelerator thingy blew up people had started to do weird shit; there was even talk about a red streak running around. With this in mind, Rory thought back over the last couple of weeks and noticed something in Leonard behaviour and that was that he was happier and there was only two things in the world that made Leonard Snart happy: money and girls.  
Rory started to smile as he slowly put two and two together "all of this doesn't have anything to do with that girl? Auburn hair, cute smile?"

"You touch her and I'll kill you" Leonard threatened weakly but knew that it was no use

"Stay down" Rory barked before standing up and turning to meet those behind them "who here feels like they got cheated by our so called leader?" they all raised their hands "and who here wants some money for their troubles!" again they all raised their hands "I might know a girl who can help us"

Leonard sank into the grass as his men marched off with Rory intending to find that sweet innocent girl and use her "Lucy…" he said to the sky and let the pain in and counted to five. Lucy came to his mind as clear as day, her smile, the scent of her hair and her voice flooded into him, then Leonard took a deep breath and got up. A quick call to a buddy and he had train times planned out, he was going to Starling City to protect and save Lucy.

 **A/N: Rory is going after Lucy! Leonard is rushing in to be her knight in a parka! I know that I kinda left Felicity and Lucy hanging and in the next chapter Felicity and Oliver to a little investigating on Lucy's crush. Good stuff! Maybe even a pep-talk from Oliver!**


	5. The Cold Will Save You

**AUTHORS NOTE: I know that this took ages to get out. My treatment is taking longer than I would have thought and is taking up most of my time and when I'm done at physiotherapy I just feel so drained that I can't write anything. Hopefully after this chapter I'm back on track and will be able to post normally again.**

* * *

The skyscrapers of the city shone in the early morning light, the windows were like diamonds, the roads like tiny thin river weaving through them all. Lucy felt on top of the world in Felicity's office and couldn't help but look down from the window in awe and a little fear at being so high up. Lucy had come to Queen Consolidated early with Felicity to get 'a feel' for the city from different angles and work on some sketches.  
Bringing her sketchbook with her and a few simple pencils, Lucy thought she might draw Starling City from above first.

Felicity watched her sister with slight amusement as she turned on her computer and answered emails and organised meetings. Felicity wished that Lucy would paint something else but once her mind was set there was no changing it and this made Felicity anxious for Lucy stayed up late sketching and drawing the night before and looked up anything to do with The Arrow online. Lucy lacked Felicity's skill with computers but she was still very good and the more she dug into The Arrow; Felicity worried more and more that she would find out Oliver's secret.  
A quiet dinging sound alerted both women to the direction of the elevator and Oliver Queen walked into view and stopped at what he saw.

A young woman sitting at Felicity's desk sketching.

Lucy looked up and smiled when she saw the handsome billionaire "Hi Mr Queen!" Lucy put her pencil down and went to shake Oliver's hand "I'm Lucy, I've heard so much about you from Felicity!"

"It's nice to meet you, Lucy" Oliver smiled politely before quickly scanning Felicity's desk where he saw several pencilled drawings of bows and arrows "what'cha got there?" he pointed to the desk and went over to take a look. Oliver thanked his lucky stars that he could conceal his emotions well, because these drawings were very familiar as he leafed through them. Oliver was also shocked to see that Lucy's small tablet showed a press picture of The Arrow. What was this girl doing? Did she know who he was?!

"It's for an art competition I'm going to enter" the young girl held up the pamphlet with all the information about the upcoming competition "I thought I would do something with The Arrow…kinda having trouble with it though"

Felicity noticed that Oliver had come in and raced out to save him from Lucy "Morning Oliver! I see you've met my sister, Lucy. She's here for a few weeks" Oliver studied the girl in front of him and saw that there was little in common when it came to appearances and guessed they were half siblings; he was also puzzled to find that Felicity had never mentioned a sister before.  
Felicity smiled at Oliver and put an arm around Lucy "I won't be able to work late tonight" she said pointedly "Lucy and I are going to dinner" she hoped her smile won Oliver over. Felicity loved working in The Arrow lair but sometimes she needed a break.

"That's fine with me, I think we can do without you for one night" Oliver nodded kindly before putting Lucy's drawings down "you have great skill here" Lucy beamed at his praise "keep up the good work" he smiled again before going into his office and sitting down "Felicity! Do you think we could go over those accounts again for that meeting tomorrow?" he called for Felicity to join him but it had nothing to do with any accounts.

Felicity turned to Oliver and then Lucy again already starting to feel flustered with all the lies she was thinking up for her sister should she ask hard questions "Hey Lu?" she fished inside her bag and pulled out some money "why don't you go get some hot chocolate and something for breakfast?" she said lamely trying to sound happy "and I'll meet you for lunch in a few hours?" the elder sister felt bad "I'm really sorry, Oliver and I have lots of work to do"

Lucy gathered her notebook and some pens, understanding that Felicity was busy "it's okay, you know how I get when I draw anyway – the hours just fly by!" she tried to sound convincing but knew that Felicity knew that she was only trying to be good "I'll meet you in a few hours"  
With the elevators small ding, Felicity watched her little sister go before turning to Oliver to face the music. She wondered what he thought about her little sister drawing The Arrow for some art competition. Would he be furious?

Felicity dived right in to Oliver's office and defended Lucy "Oliver, before you say anything about her drawings, I tried and tried to get her to change her mind but she won't! She wants to draw you, I mean not _you_ you, The Arrow you, and she been looking up pictures all night last night and footage from the paparazzi"

"Felicity, it's alright. I was a little worried at first but those photos online aren't that good a quality; they don't show my face at all. I don't see a problem. As long as she doesn't ask me to pose or anything then I think this is a fine idea. The Arrow is meant to inspire isn't he?" Oliver asked with a look that told Felicity not to worry and prepared himself for a long day at QC. Felicity was less than convinced.

* * *

Lucy put the money Felicity gave her in her pocket and took the elevator down to the first floor. Feeling mildly disappointed that she would be eating alone yet still excited that she got some great ideas for her painting and would work more on it tonight.

Felicity quickly sent her a text with the address to the café and asked her to wait for her, again apologising that Lucy had to do so.  
Now with a steaming mug of hot chocolate and a muffin in hand, Lucy sat down in a quiet booth and took out a piece of paper and smiled at Jitters who blinked back at her, the little pink fox swished her tail and tried to speak but nothing came out of her mouth "Sorry Jitters, no talking here" Lucy explained sadly and quickly sketched a small bowl of food, the glittering fox turned her nose up at it "When we get back to Felicity's apartment then I'll let you talk okay? If it makes you feel any better I've checked all the news websites trying to find out more about what's happening back home and have found nothing. All that they tell me is that the robbers got away and are making their way to Starling"

Lucy stopped talking to take a sip of her hot chocolate and her phone beeped at her, Lucy was alarmed to find out that a news app had an update and stared at the little screen in shock "…they've been sighted in–"

" _EVERYONE MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE!_ " A loud voice boomed from the café's entrance "WE ARE LOOKING FOR A YOUNG LADY WHO LIKES TO DRAW OR PAINT!" His voice was intimidating to say the least, this guy towered over everyone! Lucy sank down in her booth and pressed the video record app and pointed her camera at the man; given her position Lucy hoped the picture was clear enough for Felicity to see. As Lucy recorded the man walking around the café, the video was being sent live to Felicity's phone.

* * *

"…and that, ladies and gentleman, is why I propose that Queen Consolidated use one of the buildings in the Queen name for –"

*beep*

"–starting up a sizeable–"

*beep beep*

"–base of operation for this new charity for people effected by the Central City particle accelerator explosion. They are our sister-city and we need to work in helping them–"

*BEEP BEEP BEEP*

Felicity couldn't ignore her phone any longer and apologized to Oliver and the other members of the board as she took her phone and left the meeting. Thinking it was only Lucy being impatient; Felicity tiredly opened up the message and saw that it was a video.  
Oliver paused when he saw Felicity outside the meeting and noticed that her body language was stiff and of someone about to go into shock. Oliver excused himself and went to her side "Everything okay?" he asked concerned.

Felicity only showed him her phone where a man with a giant gun was shouting that he was looking for a young woman who could draw, people were screaming when he opened fire when he didn't get the answer he wanted. The footage changed, the camera was now lower to the ground meaning Lucy must be hiding under her table yet still at an angle to film "Oliver! We have to get her out of there!" Felicity begged and began running for the elevator

Oliver lowered his voice so the board members wouldn't hear "It's the middle of the day, The Arrow can't just burst in there!" he said apologetically "but maybe I can send Diggle to get her out?"

The sound of more screaming made them both look at the screen again, Lucy was hoisted from under her table by a man who was off screen and talking quietly to her, slowly edging out of the café until they were both spotted; Oliver and Felicity looked on in terror as shots were fired.

* * *

Lucy didn't see him come in the side door or she would have told him to stay away. When she felt his warm hand on her cold one she nearly screamed again before he covered her mouth and shushed in her ear. Lucy knew it was Leonard. What was he doing in Starling City? How did he know where to find her?

"Stay quiet and come with me" Leonard whispered and gently started to pull her up from under the table until they were spotted and Leonard shoved her behind him

"Give her to me!" Mick roared at his partner "she is very valuable!"

"You'll have to go through me!" Leonard said bravely and pointed his own gun at Mick whilst pushing Lucy to the door and still shielding her

"DONE!" Mick fired shots from his gun and watched in annoyance as they all missed but one, he managed to hit the girl in the leg and smiled when he heard her scream in pain.  
Leonard still pulled Lucy through the door, knowing that she was shot and making her run on her injured leg probably wasn't the best thing to do. Lucy clung to Leonard as he guided her down the street and into a car, driving away like a maniac from the scene all the while asking if Lucy was alright or if she was going to faint. Lucy responded with a small nod as the adrenaline slowly started to leave her body as they drove. Lucy could now feel the pain from her wound and screamed in pain nearly causing Leonard to steer them into oncoming traffic in shock "You'll be alright! I'm here!" in her confused and scared state Lucy's thumb accidently pressed the 'Home' button on the screen of her phone; effectively cutting off any means for Felicity to find her.

They drove fast through the street, Lucy's blood now coated the leather seats and her vision blurred drastically as she lapsed into the bliss of unconsciousness.

* * *

Felicity was in full blown panic mode. With the video feed cut off and the only thing she could hear were her sister's screams when she was in the car, Felicity was nearly hysterical and begged Oliver to do whatever she could to save Lucy.  
Oliver could only hold her as she cried for her sister, he knew that this was not what they needed to be doing and that every second counted now that they knew Lucy had a bullet wound. Every second counted. Oliver quickly cancelled the meeting until further notice and called Diggle up to meet them who quickly went to Felicity when he got there.

The two men thought about a plan, it was the middle of the day so The Arrow wasn't an option. Felicity went to her computers to search traffic cameras, facial recognition etc but the computers in Queen Consolidated weren't as good as the ones in their lair. They needed to go.  
Felicity wasted no time, as soon as Oliver was done telling the annoyed members of the board they weren't going to reach a conclusion she raced to the elevator before them along with Diggle.

The computers in the lair buzzed to life, as soon as the screen came on Felicity was hard at work, it was now an hour since her sister was taken and she was in no mood and was barely keeping it together "Lucy must have turned her phone off somehow, the last signal I have before her phone but out is right near the café, heading East"

"There isn't much in that direction, where must they be going?" John zoomed out of Felicity's map and made a mental trail and pointed "there's a bunch of old houses through this way" he watched Felicity zoom in again and typed on a few keys before more information popped up "I knew it, those houses were meant to be rebuilt as a side-on to The Glades but when they collapsed last year no one thought to rebuild them"

Felicity typed on a few more keys "those houses are half an hour away from The Glades, why so far away? Who cares! Now we have a general idea where Lucy is we have to go get her! She could be dying and…she's all alone" Felicity started crying again and John hugged her close "please…please we have to get her out! We can't wait until night time!"

Oliver felt his heart ache at the sight of Felicity and wished there was something he could do. Looking at the time on his watch and working out how long it would take to get to the edge of The Glades plus the half hour extra to get to the houses; Oliver went to his Arrow suit case. Felicity watched him pull out his bow and fill it with arrows before turning her head when he started to take off his shirt "Are you sure?" she asked stupidly

"It's two o'clock now, it takes an hour to weave through the city plus the half hour it takes to get to the houses. It's daylight savings now which means the sun should start to go down earlier, about 4 if I'm not mistaken, there should be enough shadow to cover me" Oliver explained quickly pulling on the Arrow pants

"You're really okay with going out in daylight?" Felicity asked in a shaky voice still not believing this to be true

"If it's you asking I'll do it" Oliver said sincerely placing a comforting hand on Felicity's shoulder. The look she was giving him gave him enough warmth and power to get on his bike and go instead of comforting her like he instructed John to do.

* * *

Lucy lay unconscious on the makeshift bed of a flat piece of plywood, some blankets and a few mismatched pillows. Leonard made sure she was as comfortable as possible before seeing to her wound. It was a through-and-through, he cut off her pants leg and examined the wound some more before getting some water from a bottle.

The house they were in was small, looked run-down on the outside but the inside was fully functional complete with running water and electricity. Leonard knew that running power for a place he didn't live in was dumb but he had safe houses in most cities surrounding Central City. This was his one in Starling, right on the edge of The Glades.

Soft light from a lamp lit up Lucy's face, he was thankful that she wasn't awake when he started to clean the wound and stitched it up as best he could. Leonard knew she would be awake soon and crushed up some pain medication and mixed it with water and slowly tipped it into her mouth hoping that some of the medication would go in and start working.  
As soon as the water hit her lips, Lucy sprang up and started to scream, Leonard held her down gently but firmly all the while telling her that she was safe with him and that no one would hurt her.

The shock and fresh adrenaline raced through her body "What happened?! Where am I?" her eyes met Leonards "and how did you get here?"

"Lucy stop, you're going to open those stitches I just put in, relax. Nothing is going to get you here. You're safe" Leonard stroked her face gently trying to calm her down "you _were_ shot but I patched you up" he took out more pain meds and gave them to her "you should take these for the pain, there's running water through there" he pointed through a doorway "I'll help you to the bathroom"

Lucy tried not to blush too hard as Leonard took her into his arms and helped her up "Thanks" she hoped the pain medication would kick in soon.

* * *

Oliver pulled up outside the only house with lights on "I'm here, I'll scout out and see if there are any back entrances"

"Please get her out of there Oliver" Felicity said over the coms.

"There's a window, I see Lucy!" Oliver exclaimed and took a closer look and almost didn't want to say what was happening "she looks out of it, not unconscious but like you were on oxycodone"

"What?! He drugged her?!"

Oliver looked again and saw the young girl smile lazily at the young man she was with, he saw her lean against him heavily and look up, her lips moved in a silent word of thank you and she leaned forward slightly.

"GET HER OUT OF THERE NOW!" Felicity screamed and Oliver sprang into action, arrow drawn as he crashed through the door. Felicity could only listen as Lucy and the young man screamed and tried to explain themselves but Oliver's angry roar drowned them out. If the guy was doing what Felicity thought he was doing then The Arrow would be the last of his worries. 

* * *

**A/N: Oh Oliver! I'm sure it's a huge misunderstanding...but a kiss from Captain Cold might help *wink* be sure to leave a review!**


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